ACP States welcome UNCTAD XIII

Director of UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities, Mr. Guillermo Valles, was invited to Brussels on 19 March to brief the ACP States on UNCTAD XIII and its main themes.

Mr. Valles highlighted the three main goals of UNCTAD XIII. The first one will be to forge a new political consensus on major development challenges and possible measures to address them. The second goal, Mr. Valles continued, will be to discover innovative policy solutions to current development problems. Finally, the conference will define UNCTAD’s work programme for the next four years. Mr. Valles elaborated on the multi-track approach to the conference, and the multitude of events aimed at producing concrete outcomes.

 

In his welcoming remarks, ACP Secretary-General, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, called for UNCTAD’s continued support to ACP States in seeking to find solutions to the many challenges that lie ahead. Dr. Chambas, who will be attending UNCTAD XIII, especially highlighted inclusive and sustainable development, food insecurity, as well as energy and climate change as some of the areas for this support.

Ambassador of Eastern Caribbean States and Chairperson of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, Ms. Shirley Skerritt-Andrew, said in her address that UNCTAD was the key international think-tank for advising developing countries on trade and development policies and strategies.
 
UNCTAD XIII is the most important global conference on trade and development, said Mr. S. B. Servansingh, Ambassador of Mauritius and Coordinator of the ACP Group of States in Geneva. He encouraged ACP States to strengthen their partnership with UNCTAD, especially in the context of the ongoing negotiations among member States on the outcome document for UNCTAD XIII.